 I have never been a huge fan of Captain America, with his goofy costume and ridiculous patriotism. However, a few months back I went to my local comic shop, Hijinx Comics, and the owner pointed me towards the newest trade, called Captain America: Winter Soldier. The cover art struck my eye and I thought, Why the hell not? It had Nick Fury, a blonde woman with an assault rifle and Captain America throwing his shield at you, with massive explosions going off in the background. Michael Bay would have been proud. However, once I opened it up and started to read the story, I realized that the cover was very misleading. It wasn’t some balls to the wall action story - it’s a very wonderfully written story of Captain America’s fall into darkness after his nemesis, the Red Skull, is killed.
While the Skull is in prison, he has his men tail Steve (Rogers, Cap’s real name - editor) for months, learning every little secret of his life. When he is finally released from prison, he goes so far as to disguise himself and follow Cap to his home, just to give himself a sick sense of control. As soon as you think that the Red Skull is finally going to one-up Captain America, a high velocity rifle round flies through his window overlooking Manhattan and punctures his heart. Yes, you read that right; an unknown assassin shoots the Red Skull through the chest. It’s a great build up to the end of the first issue. The silent killer slides through the broken window on a rope and reports back to General Lukin over his phone. Who is this mysterious killer? Is it the Winter Solider? If so, what is the Winter Soldier’s true identity?
 All of this occurs within the first issue, which is a great starter to a fantastic run by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Many secrets are revealed during the course of the book. One of the most interesting is the true role of Bucky during World War II. Bucky has always been a pretty low-key and somewhat goofy sidekick. He has become a running joke over the years. In Winter Solider you find out that he was used to do the things that Cap refused to engage in, the more “dishonorable” objectives such as sneaking behind enemy soldiers and slashing their throats. Bucky has become a full-fledged bad-ass sidekick, and it isn’t over the top. It’s a very realistic view on the character and fits surprisingly well.
The Winter Solider arc has been completed, but Brubaker and Epting’s run still isn’t over yet. The current arc, Red Menace, explores the characters Crossbones and the Red Skull’s daughter as they blast their way across the country. This series isn’t going to change the industry, but it’s a very solid comic and it’ll blow your ass out. This book has my highest recommendation.
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